Cold therapy is an established practice used in the medical profession to treat certain limb injuries, such as, for example, sprained or strained arm or leg muscles, or injuries to joints. Generally, these types of injuries should be chilled to slow blood flow, which reduces swelling, pain, and further damage. A typical course of cold therapy treatment is to apply ice for a specified period to the injured region of the limb. Alternatively, a pack or bag containing a chemical gel that reacts to produce cold may be applied to the injured region.
Heat therapy may be used, in other circumstances, to warm up or limber muscles by increasing blood flow. For example, athletes may apply heat with a hot water bag for a specified period to thighs or calf muscles prior to an event.
A relatively simple technique has been used in the past to chill an injured region of a limb. A plastic bag was filled with ice and placed on the injured region. However, since the bag was not secured to the limb, the patient had to be immobilized to keep the bag from falling off of the limb. Since then, medical professionals have developed a number of cold (and heat) therapy treatment products that can be affixed to a limb but still allow a patient to move around.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,020,711 to Kelley, discloses a holder for reusable hot/cold packs. One or more elastic bands, which are affixed to one end of the holder, wrap around the limb to be treated, and are attached to the other end of the holder by means of a hook-and-loop fastener system (Velcro.RTM.).
U.S. Pat. No. 4,688,572 to Hubbard et al., discloses a thermal pack having two pockets connected together by a stretchable material. A waterproof bladder is inserted into each pocket. A pair of Velcro.RTM.-equipped straps are attached to the other side of one pocket. These straps extend around the limb and fasten to the brushed pile outer surface of the second pocket.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,586,506 to Nangle, discloses an elastic wrap that can be wound around a limb. A container for a hot or cold pad is attached to the elastic wrap. After the elastic wrap is wound around the limb, an attaching means (Velcro.RTM.) is used to fasten one section of the elastic wrap to a second section. A second attaching means fastens the container to a predetermined section of the wrap, which the patient aligns with the region of the limb to be treated.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,347,848 to Hubbard et al., discloses a refillable ice pack having two pairs of tie strings. The ice pack is placed on the injured region of the limb, and the tie strings are tied together to secure the ice pack to the limb.
Nevertheless, these existing hot/cold therapy devices are not always easily secured to a limb. For example, a number of these devices require the use of two hands to affix them to a limb. Consequently, it is extremely difficult for individuals to affix such devices to their own arms. Additionally, some of these existing hot/cold therapy devices tend to "ride up," "ride down," or "telescope" on the limb, which diminishes their therapeutic value. Furthermore, a number of the existing devices do not provide adequate support for an injured limb (e.g., at an injured joint), which also diminishes their therapeutic value. Moreover, a number of these devices do not hold the hot/cold pack against the limb with an evenly distributed pressure, which decreases the cooling or heating effectiveness of the device.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,736,769 to Petersen, discloses a cooling device having a thin, adjustable-length elastic band that holds the device against a patient's limb. However, because of the elastic band's thin width, the device cannot function adequately to support the limb. Furthermore, the device tends to "ride up," "ride down" or "telescopes" on the limb and does not provide an evenly distributed pressure to an injured region of the limb.
Accordingly, a need has arisen for a single cold therapy device that can be readily affixed to an injured limb, is stable and can adequately support the limb, and can evenly distribute pressure and cold to the affected region of the limb. A need also exists for a single heat therapy device that can be readily affixed to a limb.